Reconciling ECOWAS after the sanction regime 

The unsavoury experiences of the people of Niger Republic, alongside that of many Nigerians on the borderline, are a clear testimony of the impropriety of the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger in particular, and on Mali and Burkina Faso in general. Reports of the hardship, and the relief to the people following the lifting of sanctions further cemented the fact that countries in the region must flock together in their common interest. The task now is to get the rebelling countries to rethink their decision to opt out of the regional body.

In the wake of the July 2023 Coup d’état in the Republic of Niger, a bouquet of sanctions was imposed on the country by the ECOWAS. It was backed by threats of military intervention to restore the democratically elected government of Mohamed Bazoum, who was deposed by the junta. Nigeria, coincidentally holding the chair of the sub-regional body, led in this regard. Her borders with Niger were closed, and even utility services agreements were transcended by the Nigerian government in pursuit of the ECOWAS sanctions. To be sure the sanction sent a strong signal to Niger’s junta, it would not be business as usual.

However, the sanction regime was unpopular in both Nigeria and Niger due to age-long economic relations between the peoples of the two countries. The sanctions were somewhat reciprocal in effect for their peoples. Between them, there is cross-ethnicity. The former is predominantly Hausa, and so is northern Nigeria. It was a case of separating a people who have managed to transcend colonial imposed artificial borders to retain their sanguinary and other forms of social relationship.

The sanctions affected them greatly, unleashing hardship and crippling a vibrant cross-border economy along the 1600 kilometres borders with nodes, namely, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, and Zamfara. To be sure, livelihoods were disrupted resulting in huge humanitarian challenges aggravated by the escalating prices of vitals such as medicine, cereals, sugar, powdered milk, and vegetable oil. The freezing of service agreements was told on cities like Niamey, Maradi, and Zinder which had to suffer prolonged blackouts while incurring huge costs for alternative energy sources that are rarely available.

The backlash of sanctions also bore on the bilateral relations between the two countries. For example, Nigeria and Niger had cooperation in the fight against terrorists in the region. Niger’s borders remain plagued by violence and jihadist attacks, and without cooperation between the two countries, and indeed the countries in the sub-region, it would be a tall order to police the borders.

Corresponding sanction busting measures had been engendered as people resorted to smuggling by the use of motorcycles, tricycles, or donkeys to ship goods across the borders, namely, Illela, in Sokoto State; the Jibiya to Daura/Kongolam axis in Katsina State and Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State in complicity with customs and immigration officers who viewed the sanctions as summer time for greasing their palms.

It would be recalled that in the wake of the coup, notable leadership structures from northern Nigeria, such as Moslem clerics and legislators, had cautioned the Nigerian government and ECOWAS to tread softly and avoid making rash decisions, more so that the two economies were somewhat tied to each other. As it turned out, the decisions were ill-advised and worsened the relationship between the two countries with threats of even banning Nigerian aircraft from flying across Niger’s airspace. More devastating is the extant resultant split in the sub-regional body as the countries governed by military juntas, namely, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger form a new body known as the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS). In toying with that course of action they cited the derailment of “the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.”

Expectedly, the decision to lift the sanction on Niger and others governed by military juntas was welcomed. The Northern Senators Forum applauded the decision of the ECOWAS to lift the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic and others. Also, Nigeriens welcomed the lifting of some of the sanctions and hoped for an improved economic situation in their country.

Without a doubt, the lifting of the sanctions was a triumph of diplomacy and common sense. The intervention of General Yakubu Gowon, one of the founding fathers of ECOWAS, also resulted in the outcome that culminated in the lifting of the sanctions by the extraordinary session of the Heads of State and Government in Abuja, announced the lifting of the sanctions by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray. According to him, the decision was made in the interest of unity and security in the African sub-region.

With hindsight, ECOWAS should not have imposed sanctions. It was a difficult decision because of the organisation’s pro-democracy stance; and the fact that sanctions were already imposed on Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. ECOWAS played into the hands of the young military officers. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who had been shuttling to France incessantly, did not help matters as the trips looked suspicious and subject to various interpretations of some ulterior motives.

Reactions after lifting the sanctions have shown the weakness of Nigeria’s foreign policy. The task left undone is for ECOWAS to encourage the three countries to return to the sub-regional fold. In this respect, General Gowon could help secure the commitment of the three countries, partners in the ASS venture, to return to ECOWAS given the lifting of the sanctions.